I reached out for service to my chimney, in Minneapolis. I can't actually speak poorly about the…read moreconstruction work this company provides, because I didn't get that far. I had some odd interactions with the reception staff. I called to schedule an estimate, and as we were setting up a time, she asked me about whether my "husband" would be there. It was really startling (I'm an out lesbian). I chose to handle it with humor, so I laughed and answered, "Hon, I don't have a husband." I got the impression she disliked that. I thought about just canceling the estimate, as I wouldn't want to work with a company that might be unfriendly to LGBTQ customers. But I figured it was just an estimate, and I could see if I got a good vibe from the person who actually arrived. The estimate was scheduled yesterday at 11:30am. I'm not a morning person, and will generally sleep till 10am or later. But my phone rang before 8:30am, which was not ideal! It turned out to be a receptionist from Lindus construction. I said something about the time (and to be fair, probably sounded pretty grumpy), and she basically began arguing, saying that they were open (so I guess I should be on the same timetable?), and that she hadn't specifically been told not to call me before 9am. The reason she was calling was that they wanted to reschedule due to weather, which was fine, but I figured, you know -- this company might be kind of right-wing/ not queer-friendly, and certainly doesn't seem to be sleep friendly, and those are two things I cherish (LGBTQ people, and sleep). So I just canceled.
Adding an additional note in response to the reply from Bridget C.
First, thanks for reading and for the rapid response!
Second, your note did indicate that I had "misconstrued" your receptionist's statement about my imagined "husband". I actually stated facts, and then recognized the possibility that those facts could potentially indicate a lack of LGBTQ friendly consciousness at Lindus Construction. It might be fair to say that I misconstrued something if I had gone from just a mere possibility to a vehement declaration (e.g. saying something like "Clearly, this company hates all LGBTQ people!"). But under the circumstances, my critical feedback seems pretty mild, quite plausible, and doesn't seem to mistake or "misconstrue" what actually occurred. Sorry if it seems like I'm nitpicking, but I think that accuracy in this instance matters.
With that said, thanks for talking to your staff about this issue!
Third, I agree wholeheartedly that Minnesota culture reflects our experiences of winter! But that's not quite the issue here. The storm you reference happened between Saturday night and Sunday. It was pretty predictable that there would be snow on the roof on the Tuesday after, and snow was also forecast for Tuesday since the weekend. So it certainly would have been fine and possible, if your staff wanted to reschedule a Tuesday 11:30am appointment to just call anytime Monday afternoon, or to call Tuesday morning, but not quite so early (i.e. at 10am or later). The call yesterday morning, before 8:30am, wasn't actually dictated by the weather.
One value we do have in Minnesota is that compared to many states, we sometimes put a lot more value on caring for people, for neighbors, for community members. So take my critical feedback in that spirit? Minnesota includes many elders and people with disabilities, and a lot of us need more time in the morning to rest and to take care of our health, our hearts, our sore limbs, our digestive systems, our over-taxed adrenal systems, and to just to allow us to rise gently.
So if you were open to changing your business culture (because it is corporate culture, not Minnesota culture that generates the norm that incorrectly assumes everyone should be up at 8am) -- it would be pretty simple, when having your reception staff do intake with new customers, to just ask, "If we need to call you, what hours are you generally available?", and then to take note of and honor the response. Doing so would be a great way to attract more loyalty from some of the many Minnesotans who are aging and disabled, and again, there are plenty of us.
Thanks again for the reply, and take care!
